What choice do I have?
by Dutchess Applebomb
Summary: Ever since their drama-filled trip to Egypt, Jimmy has been fascinated by Libby's exotic beauty. His duty is to Cindy. But where is his heart? Can he keep up the farce? Or will he betray his best friend and his girlfriend in the pursuit of…true love? A touch of mystery, a tad bit of drama, a little subterfuge, and some romance. Jimmy/Libby, Cindy/Nick, Sheen/?, Carl/ Elkie
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Ever since their drama-filled trip to Egypt, Jimmy has been fascinated by Libby's exotic beauty. His duty is to Cindy. But where is his heart? Can he keep up the farce? Or will he betray his best friend and his girlfriend in the pursuit of…true love?

**AN: This is set when the gang is around 16 or 17, to ease any confusion**

Ms. Fowl was getting married, believe it or not. She planned to leave Lindbergh for a month after the nuptials to drive off into the sunset with her new husband. No one knew where he had come from, just that one day he appeared and was immediately smitten with Ms. Fowl's bird-like "beauty." All her students, past and present, were invited. But only her favorite fifth-grade class of all time was prepared to show up for what would definitely be the happiest day of her life.

Jimmy Neutron had the perfect gift in mind for the bride-to-be. It would no doubt make her wedding (and the wedding night) unforgettable. Currently, he was in the newly established laboratory of Lindbergh High School mixing the necessary chemicals and pheromones for her present.

His cerulean eyes caught Sheen and Libby lounging on the couches across the room, arms wrapped languidly around each other. Jimmy's brow wrinkled, but he tried not to show his frustration. He felt his hand tilt and was planning on shifting when-

"Focus Neutron!"

The shrill and bitter voice of his girlfriend made his poor eardrums ring. His beaker, which had already been tipped precariously, slipped from his fingers, spilling onto Cindy's exposed ankles as the glass shattered around them.

Jimmy cursed as Cindy screamed bloody murder, though the solution was relatively harmless. Mild irritation would result, but nothing major. Cindy threw her goggles to the ground and ran to the sink, using a damp paper towel to scrub at her reddening skin. Jimmy apologized profusely, but remained where he was. He didn't want to slip on the wet floor.

Sheen's voice, which had deepened and smoothed with age, carried across the now silent room.

"What's going on?" He absently rubbed the stubble of his sharp jawline and narrowed his eyes with concern. Jimmy hadn't yet grown facial hair, and felt wholly inadequate in that respect. Even Carl was more masculine-looking than he was.

Libby tightened her grip on Sheen and Jimmy averted his eyes. He tried to answer but a sudden lump had clogged his throat. Damn. He thought he was over his crush on Libby! How long can one crush last?! But when he glanced at her from under his thick lashes he knew he wouldn't get over her any time soon; if ever.

"Nerd-tron spilled the solution all over my legs! If I die Neutron, I swear I'll-" but Cindy was cut off by the voice of an angel, raspy and calm, as sweet as caramel and chocolate.

"Chill out dude, they're just chemicals. Jimmy would never drop anything dangerous on you, Cindy." His name on her lips brought a reaction he didn't want, but couldn't stop. He blushed. Furiously.

Sheen, taking his rapid discoloration for embarrassment, stood up and walked toward his best friend. After reaching him, he slung an arm around the narrow shoulders, engulfing the petite brunette boy.

"It's okay Jimmy," he soothes. "We all make mistakes."

"Yeah, Jimmy," Libby added as she walked past him with a sexy saunter. She helped Cindy pull up her capris and they depart to the nurse's office. Neither of the girls realized that the nurse wouldn't be there. School had closed hours ago.

In the safe security of an all-male environment, Sheen shook Jimmy and turned him until they were face-to-face.

"Why are you dating her," he asked with a slightly hysterical edge. "She's mean, vindictive, and I'm sorry, but does she really even love you?!"

Jimmy was at a loss. They had had this discussion numerous times before. Every single instance Jimmy had responded with: 'well, we've been together forever.'

As if that meant anything. In his heart, Jimmy knew that he only stayed with Cindy to keep ties with Libby. But why? He didn't love her. He loved Cindy; in a strange and twisted way. He had shared many things with her throughout his life. She was the first girl to ever be in his lab, for Science's sake! They had had their first kiss, first date, first everything together. They had fought, been jealous, made up, and fought again in an endless cycle of dysfunction. But always, even when Jimmy had been wonder-struck by Cindy, Libby had been floating in the back of his mind. Before, he could repress it. Cindy used to be all he ever wanted; Libby was just a minor twinge back then. But as he grew older and Cindy became obsessive and controlling (more so than usual), the twinge grew into an ache. Now his "crush" was full blown and still growing.

Sheen looked into his eyes, brown meeting blue. Carl and Sheen had always been closer to each other than they were to Jimmy, but lately Sheen had opened up. Carl hung out more and more with Elki, leaving the two of them to double date or just chill out. He couldn't tell Sheen. He could _never_ tell Sheen.

It would ruin their friendship for good.

"We've been together forever, Sheen," Jimmy said, not meeting his eyes any longer.

"So," Sheen whined. "That's no reason to take her abuse! Dude, I didn't want to tell you this but it feels like I have no other choice."

Jimmy eyes snapped forward and his lip trembled. He's had that unfortunate habit since he turned thirteen. His upper lip quivered when he was nervous.

"What," he asked. "Tell me."

_What does he know? _Jimmy pondered.

"Well…"

He bit his lip and sighed deeply, as if burdened by the weight of the world.

"Come on!"

Silence.

Jimmy was prepared to step away when Sheen blurted, "Cindy is cheating on you with Nick!"

It was quite anticlimactic. Sheen was staring with those big doe eyes, frowning like he had broken his best friend. But…the world does not fall, the sky does not break, and his heart does not shatter. Jimmy felt nothing. His thoughts raced, sure. But they all came back to a singular sentence: _How did I not realize sooner?_

The distance, the nagging, the constant physical advances that Jimmy always had to reject. Cindy was feeling neglected. And she had found solace in Nick. Of course.

"Wow."

"Yeah," Sheen said apologetically, right as the girls pranced into the room. Jimmy turned his head, on reflex more than actually caring about them entering, and stopped short.

Cindy looked…

_Ridiculous._

She was wearing skin-tight leopard print jeggins (at least that what Jimmy thought they were called) with a bedazzled black top that didn't cover her midriff. She looked pasty and sickly and just plain off-putting. Obviously she was wearing Libby's clothes. But where Libby had the curves and the coloring to pull these looks off, Cindy didn't. She was the total opposite of Libby in every way, and placing Cindy in Libby's clothes just seemed…wrong.

"Look at you, hot stuff," Sheen said jokingly to Cindy. She stood awkwardly in her high heels, and Jimmy felt angry at the fact that she now towered over him. As if he didn't already feel like less of a man.

"Thanks," she said, looking down at her feet. Her toenails were painted a nice shade of pink. It's the same pink that donned Libby's toes as well.

"You're welcome," Sheen said, now turning his attention back to Libby. Never one to be mean, he truly only speaks to Cindy because she's dating one of his oldest and closest friends. If Jimmy and Cindy had never started dating, Sheen would have stopped hanging out with her a long time ago.

Jimmy remembered the mess and begins to walk toward the storage closet for a broom, but is halted by Libby's brown arm wrapping around him. She pulled Jimmy over and hugged him around the neck, teasingly making kissy noises in the air around his face.

"If you can flirt with Cindy, I can flirt with Jimmy," she sang, sticking her tongue out at Sheen. He let out a big guffaw and gripped her waist, wrenching her from Jimmy and planting a smacking kiss on her glossy lips. Jimmy felt sick and practically ran to the closet. He didn't know how much longer he could take this torture.

"Jimmy," he heard a quiet voice behind him. He turned to look at Cindy and before she can open her mouth, he brought his lips to hers. She gasped and melted, slinking pale arms around his neck and deepening the kiss. Her tongue attempted to part his lips, but Jimmy kept it strictly closed mouthed. Still, Cindy enjoyed the kiss and was deliriously happy that this time he initiated the affection before she did. Finally free from rejection, Cindy doesn't want this to end. She's not even angry about the spill any longer.

But her mind strayed.

Nick wasn't as good of a kisser, but he made her feel desirable. That's all she really wanted; to be desirable to someone. Jimmy preferably, but any guy with good looks and a nice bank account would do. Cindy was materialistic, yes. But deep deep down she loved Jimmy. She knew it! Just because she and Nick had a little fun together behind Jimmy's back didn't mean anything. Right?

Cindy thought, and as she thought, the kiss turned sour. Almost at the same time, they broke apart. Both were panting and both were perplexed.

Jimmy wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, blinked once, left the closet, and then left the room. He never swept his mess, and it stayed on the floor through the weekend to be discovered on a bright and sunny Monday morning by a janitor and young Mr. Jameson.

Mr. Jameson was Ms. Fowl's fiancé. He was handsome, in his mid-thirties, and thrilled to be engaged to who he felt was the most beautiful woman in the world. He always wore a suit and tie, mainly to show off his riches. He spoke many languages perfectly, but sadly his English was almost incomprehensible. He spoke with a mix of accents, like someone who had lived everywhere and anywhere but didn't want to drop the speech patterns. That only worsened his ability to speak clearly and understandably.

He swaggered down the hall Monday morning looking for his love, when a curious scent tingled the hairs in his nose.

"Oo-loo-ka-her," he said with a wide grin. "Wah-roam-es-es?"

He practically skipped through the laboratory doors, smacking a female janitor in the face and knocking her onto her back.

"Eh-soy-soar-ey," he screams, reaching out to grip her calloused palm in his. She's butch and perhaps a good ten years his senior, but in this light she somehow looks…desirable?

Mr. Jameson is flummoxed. He is engaged for Pete's sake! He can't possibly be having feelings for this woman! What kind of man was he?!

The janitor sniffed deeply and turned her head toward the green spill she has been meaning to get to. Her name was Elmira. Despite her looks, the woman was pretty intelligent. She knew that Jimmy and his friends mixed concoctions all the time in this room. Never before had they left such a large mess, and it was partially dried in so it must be a few days old. Whatever it was, she knew that it was the cause of the desire stirring within her for this man: Ms. Fowl's man. No Elmira and Ms. Fowl weren't friends, but Elmira could never betray her that way! Or could she?

Soon, as they enter and staring match, Elmira realized that she can't resist the pull of the laboratory fumes. And she doesn't want to. She can see the desire -and disgust- written plainly on his face. Should she give in to the pull?

"Scoo-say-me," he said, trying to retreat, but Elmira gripped him by the color and planted a big kiss on the man. The smell of her breath and the feel of her sweaty cheeks against his face brought him out of his haze, but the loud gasp of horror from the open doorway was like an electric shock.

Principle Willabee.

He puts up a hand to his lips and runs. He's quite fast for an old man, but Mr. Jameson is faster. He sprints out of the room after Willabee, leaving Elmira to faint in the room alone. She is found dead two days later by a man that returned from visiting a college across the country. This man had never before set foot in the school's lab; the harsh chemicals made him woozy. But on that day, that seemingly ordinary Wednesday, he finds a woman dead on the laboratory floor, lying in a puddle of green ooze and broken glass.


	2. Chapter 2

Carl Wheezer returned to Retroville Sunday night with a heavy heart. His girlfriend had returned to her homeland the day before he arrived from college tours across the country, and neither of his best friends was available to chat. Jimmy was holed up in his lab, and Sheen was on a date with Libby. It was the three year anniversary of the day they officially became a couple. Carl headed to bed almost as soon as he arrived; and he woke up grumpy.

"Dahling," Carl's mother screamed from the couch in the living room as Carl shuffled toward the kitchen. "Remember to pack your lunch for school!"

He sniffed a hit from his inhaler and glanced at the clock. Seven oh three. Too early for school, but what else did Carl have to do on a Monday morning? He called out an affirmation to his mother and grabbed a few apples from the table before walking out of the door, not realizing that his life would be changed forever.

He walked the darkened street for two blocks, turned the corner at the streetlamp, walked the thirty two steps up toward the double door and entered Lindbergh High School. The hallway was empty of all students, but immediately Carl was hit with a smell that threatened to bring him to his knees. Vomiting all over the pristine tile was not what Carl had in mind, so he opted to breathe through his mouth.

"What is that," he asked, stepping curiously forward. Ten steps brought him to the entrance to the school's lab, a place he had never before step foot.

Carl Wheezer hated science.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. His best friend was a genius and excelled in all the sciences, so he was exposed continuously and had developed an appreciation for the subject. But he didn't have a talent for it, which led to a mild dislike that fermented into what it was today. So he didn't really expect to wander the hallways and end up outside of the laboratory that Monday morning.

The door was cracked, and that powerful odor assaulted his nostrils.

"Ugh," he grunted as he brought his hand over his face to cover his nose. He didn't want to be back at Lindbergh. College life was all it seemed on television and in movies: beautiful women, endless parties, and a chance to reinvent himself. He was cool up there, unlike down here. Carl was still thought of as the same 'geek who was allergic to everything' that he had been in elementary school. Cindy still teased him, as did all the popular girls, for being the way he was. Elkie was his only saving grace (besides Sheen and Jimmy; but what could they do? They can't replace the love of a woman). But because had Elkie left for her home country yesterday she hadn't gotten a chance to welcome him back.

His stomach clenched and he felt nausea build up, but his curiosity won out and he peeked inside…

He had never seen a dead body before, and wasn't too keen on it.

Dead, soulless eyes stared up at him from a puddle of green goo. Carl knew nothing of this woman, but he felt her pain. Immediately everything faded away as he noticed the details surrounding him. Faint fumes rose up with green tendrils, wrapping onto the woman's sprawled body; her skin was tinged with gray and her cheeks were streaked with dried tears; a janitor's uniform, baggy and filthy, stuck to her sweaty skin.

"I need to get someone," he whispered. His voice echoed in the silence of the room, and his footsteps sounded thunderous as he ran toward the Principal's office.

Principle Willabee hated being the bearer of bad news, but he also loved gossip, so it was no surprise that he had mixed feelings about telling Ms. Fowl her fiancé was caught kissing their janitor, Elmira. Mr. Jameson had sprinted after him and cornered him almost immediately, but a promise not to tell and innocent eyes won him over.

Sucker.

He called her soon after, full to bursting. After spilling everything Ms. Fowl was immediately in tears. Principal Willabee felt bad about potentially ruining their marriage, but he felt good about bringing the truth to light.

As he placed the key into the lock of his office, pounding footsteps halted him. Carl Wheezer came to a stop in front of him, mumbling incoherently about death and chemicals.

"What are you talking about," Willabee said, angry about being forced to show up so early every day. Being principal was hard work.

"There's a woman," Carl gasped. "A woman is dead in the laboratory!"

Willabee paused for a split second before horror and anguish crossed his usually taciturn features. He had forgotten all about how Elmira was still in the lab, the woman who he had caught Mr. Jameson locking lips with. He saw her days ago; how had she died? What on earth had happened?!

They sprint back toward the room as Carl whips out his cellphone to call the police.

Jimmy had been avoiding both Libby and Cindy for three days. His lab had gone through countless redecorations and now resembled a suave bachelor pad (courtesy of Sheen) and had been filled with art and feng shui-ed by Carl until his room felt like a haven. Purple flurp flowed like a river, as did Jimmy's fears about his relationship with Cindy. He hurried through his task and left to meet Sheen down the block to walk to Lindbergh High.

"Hey Jimmy," Sheen called out with a quick wave before falling into synchronized step.

Discussing the various theories of quantum physics never interested Sheen, and ultra-lord conventions and episodes never interested Jimmy, so they compromised and talked about their girlfriends.

"Libby is so high-maintenance," Sheen grunts, shrugging his book bag strap further up his shoulder. "We went out for our anniversary and she was complaining about me taking her to the Candy Bar!"

_Well, it was your three year anniversary_, Jimmy thought with an internal frown. Outwardly, he said, "That's crazy. She should be happy as long as you two are together."

"That's what I said!"

"I'm having issues with Libs, man," Sheen sighed. Jimmy's ears perked, and he cursed himself for being this way while his best friend tried to share private thoughts of his. But mention of Libby had his mind running wild, and in his mind he imagined her leaving Sheen to run into his open arms, their lips locked and legs tangled in a hold nothing could break.

"So, what do you think?"

Jimmy jerked his head and stared, caught not listening. "I'm sorry, what?"

Sheen repeated himself without any signs of anger or exasperation. He had been telling Jimmy about Libby's insistence that they go out on more dates to better places than McSpanky's. But Sheen didn't have the money to provide for his girl like she wanted.

"You could go back to Taco Shack," Jimmy suggested, glancing at the flower bed in front of the lawn they passed. "Make more money."

"Nah," he said. "Ma's got me 'focusing on my studies' or some shit like that."

The boys shared a moment thinking of the unfairness of mothers before Goddard trotted out of nowhere, slipping underneath Jimmy's legs. Sheen smiled at the robot dog and grabbed it, placing it under his arm.

"What do you want, boy," Jimmy asks, a bit upset at almost tripping over his pet. Goddard barked and licked both boys' faces.

"Goddard, give me some options buddy," Sheen says. "I need some money to please my lady."

Jimmy frowned and looked away, covering his mouth and forcing out a fake burp to make his despair look like gas.

Goddard jumped from Sheen's grip and sounded his alarm that meant danger in Retroville. Both boys threw their hands over their ears. Jimmy glanced at Goddard's screen.

"What? What's happened at Lindbergh," Jimmy screams to Goddard over the wail.

The alarm stopped as a news broadcast aired, picturing their chief of police standing beside Principal Willabee and Carl, who looked shaken.

"A woman, Elmira Laski, was found dead at seven fifteen this morning in the laboratory of Lindbergh. She was prone in a puddle of an unidentified green substance, and seemed to have died from poison inhalation," the interviewer said.

The cop grabbed the mic and spoke with wild gesticulation. "It is a phenomena that we have no idea how to deal with. I'd never seen anything like it! The autopsy revealed that the woman's heart had actually _exploded_. Like an overly-expanded balloon. We are all doing the best we can to get to the bottom of this."

The interviewer then pointed her microphone at Carl. "This student found her body. His name is Carl Wheezer. Mr Wheezer, what were your initial thoughts?"

Their best friend appeared heartbroken and sick. He didn't say a word, only stared forlornly into the camera. Principal Willabee held up his cellphone, where a picture of the janitor's corpse was magnified and Jimmy gasped.

"That's the solution I spilled! I thought I had cleaned that up," he said with a hysterical twinge to his voice.

Sheen shook his head and covered his eyes as Goddard ended his broadcast.

"You left before you could, man. We all did."

The boys sprinted toward the school, fear and guilt hastening their arrival. The chemicals were supposed to be harmless! What had happened?

What had Jimmy done?


End file.
